Jokić, Murray close with a 16-0 sprint to stun Utah

Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray did what elite duos do when the game starts slipping: they took it back.

Denver’s 135-129 win over Utah isn’t a blowout, and for long stretches it doesn’t feel comfortable at all. The Jazz build a 14-point lead, push the Nuggets into chase mode, and even after Denver claws back, Utah keeps answering. But once the fourth quarter turns into a half-court knife fight, the Nuggets have the best two players on the floor — and they use every inch of that advantage.

The early tone is set in the first quarter when Denver’s offense gets rolling through movement and pressure at the rim. The Nuggets open an 11-point burst with Aaron Gordon finishing an alley-oop dunk off a Jokić feed, and then Murray starts stretching the floor with a pair of threes — including a 25-footer in motion that helps Denver separate. That flurry gives Denver control, but Utah doesn’t go away. Cody Williams is active throughout the night, and the Jazz flip the script in the second quarter with a 9-point run that starts at 62-58 and ends with Utah ahead 67-62 after Williams finishes a running layup. By halftime, the game is tied at 62, and it’s clear Denver’s lead has evaporated.

Then Utah lands its biggest punch of the night in the third. The Jazz open the quarter by pushing the score to 105-98, and suddenly Denver is staring at a 14-point hole. Kyle Filipowski is efficient all night, scoring 25 on 65% shooting, and Williams keeps making plays as a scorer and facilitator with 24 points and 7 assists. Denver answers with a brief 8-0 burst late in the third, sparked by Tim Hardaway Jr.’s running 3 from deep and another Jokić assist, but Utah still carries a 105-98 edge into the fourth. The Nuggets have work to do, and the building feels it.

That’s when Jokić and Murray take over in tandem. Denver trims, probes, and then starts landing haymakers. Aaron Gordon keeps cutting hard and finishing — his dunk at 4:49 cuts it to 119-124 — while Jokić begins living in the lane and on the elbow. At 2:55, he turns in a 9-foot turnaround jumper to make it 123-126, and just over half a minute later Christian Braun (listed here as C. Johnson in the play-by-play) splashes a three to tie it at 126-126. The Jazz answer again, but every time Utah thinks it has a cushion, Denver finds another blade.

The real turning point comes in Denver’s 16-point fourth-quarter run. Murray buries a 25-foot step-back at 1:15 to put the Nuggets up 129-126, Utah briefly ties it with a deep pull-up from E. Harkless, and then Christian Braun’s late three — set up by Jokić for his 12th assist — swings the door open for good. Gordon’s steal with 31.2 seconds left helps slam it shut, and Murray finishes the game the way elite guards do, drilling a 27-foot pull-up with 18.7 seconds left to make it 135-129.

The final box score reads like a star-driven rescue mission. Jokić posts 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 12 assists in 39 minutes, shooting 81% from the field while dictating every important possession. Murray adds 31 points and 14 assists, hitting five threes and repeatedly punishing Utah’s late coverage. That two-man engine was enough to survive a night when Utah’s young scorers kept answering. For Denver, it’s a reminder that when the offense starts with Jokić and Murray, no deficit feels final. For Utah, it’s a frustrating loss, but one that shows the Jazz can score in bunches and push a contender to the edge. In the playoff race, Denver gets the kind of hard-earned win that matters in March — and the Nuggets keep building closing-time trust for the games that count most.